Clow Hearts
by sugarhigh-ninja3
Summary: Kingdom Hearts & Card Captor Sakura X-over. With the discovery of ten new cards, Sakura and her friends must help Sora and company defeat the Heartless and Organization XIII if they ever want to return home again. OC.
1. Cherry Blossom

**Author's Notes:** It's Bridget (and only Bridget) again! I've posted this story before (under a different title) a couple years back, but I took it down when I stopped writing in it. (You might remember it as "Kingdom Clow", but I doubt it.) But I had one of my friends read over/edit it (thanks Izzy, aka kryptofreak) and now I'm reposting it, with a new title and some much-needed revisions. So, I'm not double-posting it, just reposting it. Just to be clear, in case you somehow stumbled across this by accident: this IS a Kingdom Hearts and Card Captor Sakura crossover. (But the first couple chapters will be mainly CCS.) There is an OC, but she doesn't show up for several chapters, and I've tried to make her as non-Mary Sue-ish as possible. (But, trust me, I won't be offended if she gets on your nerves or anything.) I grew up watching the English dub, Cardcaptors, on Cartoon Network or Kids WB (whichever one played it, can't remember which, it might have even been both), so the first time I posted this, it had all of the really bad English names. I went back and changed those this time around. The OC originally had an English name, too, but hers is in Japanese now as well. And if the writing style switches drastically between, say, chapters 10 and 11, that's where I'm beginning to write anew.

You probably won't hear from me again until some of the later chapters, so I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**(Sakura's POV)**

"Sakura!"

I looked up. I had been leaning against the trunk of a cherry tree, closely inspecting a card. Pink petals floated through the air like snow as a light, warm breeze scattered them throughout the narrow street. The brown-haired boy was making his way toward me.

"Hey, Syaoran."

He sat down at the base of the tree next to me. The card also caught his attention.

"What's that?"

"I'm not sure. It looks like a Clow Card, but there's something off about it. The card doesn't seem to have any magic powers, but it is very unusual," I said.

"Are there more?" Syaoran asked.

I nodded.

"What do you think they are?"

I considered this for a moment. "They want me to do something. I'm sure of it."

Syaoran picked up the card and examined it.

"'The Intertwined', huh?" he said thoughtfully.

The card depicted two hands clutching a star. A star with leaves. I had assumed it was some kind of fruit. Syaoran turned the card over in his hand, and looked at the back. There was something very promising about the tarot-like card, whatever it was.

Syaoran tried to change the subject. "We'd better get going, or we'll be late for school."

"It's the last day, it's not so important," I said dreamily.

I turned out to be right, as most of the day consisted of handing in textbooks, cleaning out desks, and staring longingly at the clock on the wall. Despite the chaos of the last minute tasks that were going on around me, I was totally immersed in a daydream. _What could those cards possibly mean?_

A hand waved in front of my face.

"Anybody home? Sakura!" my best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji, called.

I picked my head up off the desk and stared uncomprehendingly at the hand.

"Hi, Tomoyo. What's up?" I asked.

"I was wondering if you, Meiling, and Syaoran all wanted to come over to my place tomorrow. Mom will be at work, so it'll pretty much just be me. You can bring Kero, too."

"Yeah, sure. We'll be there," I answered.

"What's wrong? You seem distracted," she commented.

I glanced around the room quickly. Nobody appeared to be paying attention to us, so I began to talk in a low whisper.

"Some strange cards appeared the other night, during that meteor shower. I don't think they're Clow Cards, but I don't know what else they could be."

Tomoyo looked concerned.

"Hey, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. It's just confusing, that's all," I said.

"Okay, if you're sure about that," she agreed.

"Of course." I wasn't absolutely positive, but nothing out of the ordinary had happened since the appearance of the cards, so I wasn't going to fret about it.

Meiling and Syaoran, who had been talking at the back of the room, walked over. Meiling quickly sat down on my desk, cutting straight to the chase.

"Syaoran said you found some new cards," she said.

"Yeah, but 'found' isn't the word I would use. They just kind of… showed up."

She held out her hand. "Let me see."

I handed her the one I had shown Syaoran, The Intertwined. She scrutinized it for a minute, and handed it back to me.

"Boring," she trilled. "So, what does it do?"

"I'm not really sure," I admitted.

"You know what," she began, "You should bring them to Tomoyo's house, so we can try and figure out what they're for!"

"That's a great idea," Tomoyo said. Syaoran silently nodded his approval.

Before we knew it, it was time to go home. I knew I'd be coming back next year, but there was something sad about leaving. Like it wouldn't be the same ever again, and everything would change. Soon.

"Have a nice summer, students!" Mr. Terada dismissed.

I shrugged my backpack onto my shoulders. When I got out of the school, I quickly strapped on my pads and my rollerblades, getting ready to skate home.

"See you tomorrow!" Tomoyo called over her shoulder, headed for the sleek black car as one of her bodyguards opened the door for her.

Meiling and Syaoran left for home too, so I skated out of the courtyard alone. It was a beautiful day; blue sky, green grass, pink flowers on all the trees, and birds everywhere. I bladed down the straight path for about half a mile, eventually grabbing the familiar pole and swinging myself around the corner to my street.

Home was empty, as usual. My brother Toya was at work, and my father, Fujitaka Kinomoto, was still at the university. I slipped my rollerblades off and left them in a jumbled heap by the door, and ran up the staircase to my room. Kero was waiting, or rather, Kero was playing video games and didn't notice that I was home until I picked him up by the scruff of his neck and carried him over to my bed.

"Hey! Put me down!" he said.

I set the guardian "beast" down on my bed and proceeded to tell him all about my day.

"What new cards?" asked Kero.

I blinked. "You mean, you didn't know? These really aren't Clow Cards, then." I pulled the deck from my backpack.

"Where did they come from?"

"I found them in the basement the night of the meteor shower," I replied.

"I don't like this…" Kero said.

"Why? They're just cards. I don't think they have any powers."

"Just remember what I always say; 'Expect the unexpected'. Never forget that."

I grinned. "How could I? Everything always seems to happen when I'm not expecting it."

I tossed and turned in bed that night. An unexpected storm rolled in, rain pounding the windows, and lightning illuminating the darkened corners of my room. My dream was interrupted with a particularly loud crash of thunder.


	2. Star Gazing

**Author's Notes: **Remember when I said you wouldn't be hearding from me for a while? Yeah, I lied. Actually, the only reason I came back was to tell you that this is a FLASHBACK chapter. As such, it will be italicized in its entirety. (And by "flashback chapter", I really mean "the lazy way of fixing the fact that Sakura has new cards in chapter one, but doesn't find them until chapter two". What was I thinking?) Izzy pointed this out; or maybe it was something else about a meteor shower later on that was wrong... whatever it was, it's fixed now.

...I think.

* * *

**(Sakura's POV)**

_I had been sitting at my desk, looking over all the Clow Cards I had captured when I heard a knock on the door. I quickly put all the cards back into the book and stowed the book in my desk drawer. My brother Toya opened the door and stepped in._

_"Hey, squirt, Yukito and I are going to watch the stars. Wanna come with?" Toya asked._

_"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute, okay?"_

_"Whatever, but don't take too long. There's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight," he replied._

_When I finally did come down, Yukito and Toya had already managed to put together the telescope. Yukito was randomly spouting information about stars and constellations while Toya pretended to act interested and positioned the telescope perfectly._

_"Hey, Sakura!" Yukito waved._

_"Oh, hi, Yukito!" I called back._

_Toya had finished messing around with the telescope and sat down on the grass. Yukito followed suit, and I sat between them. We didn't have to wait long for the first shooting star._

_Yukito extended his arm and followed its trail with his finger. I turned my head so I could see what he was pointing at. Suddenly, the entire night sky was lit up with the blue streaks. Each one made a graceful arc across the sky before fading into the darkness._

_"They say that each star represents another world, somewhere far away," he said._

_"Oh really?" asked Toya. That was typical of my big brother; he was always cynical._

_I, on the other hand, was curious. "How far away, Yukito?"_

_"Who knows? Maybe closer than we think… maybe farther."_

_We sat there, sprawled on the grass, for a long time. At least, it seemed long, because we were staring in awe at the vast night sky in silence. All of a sudden, Toya sat up._

_"Okay, squirt, time for bed. I'm going to walk Yukito home."_

_I stretched and yawned. "Yeah, it is pretty late. See you later, Yukito."_

_"Bye, Sakura." Yukito smiled._

_As Toya and Yukito walked down the street, I turned and went back inside. Dad was giving a lecture, so he would be late coming home tonight. The door to the basement was moving as if something on the other side were trying to open it._

_I bolted up for my room, almost slipping on the hard wooden floor. Kero looked up when I entered the room. I slammed my door closed and leaned against it, breathing hard. I slid down the door until I reached the floor._

_"What's wrong, Sakura? You look like you've seen a ghost," Kero said._

_"The… basement," I panted._

_"Something's going on down there," Kero finished._

_I nodded furiously and threw myself down on my bed. Kero sighed._

_"You've gotta take a look. The last time something happened in the basement it was a Clow Card's doing. It couldn't be a ghost."_

_"Okay, but just a quick peek," I agreed._

_I grabbed my cheerleading baton and gripped the key around my neck tightly. Kero flew down the stairs behind me._

_"Don't worry, I've got your back," he said reassuringly._

_Kero, of course, wasn't behind me when I descended the stairs down into the basement. He was waiting at the top of the stairs by the door, and he would be the first one to run if something bad happened. This did nothing to boost my confidence._

_When I reached the bottom of the staircase, I summoned my weapon. I took the key from my neck, slipping the chain off over my head, and held it out in front of me. Then, finally, I recited the incantation._

_"O Key of Clow, Power of Magic, Power of Light. Surrender the wand; the force, ignite. Release!"_

_The key transformed itself into a long pink staff, with a figure at the top that slightly resembled a bird's head. Normally, the only use for the staff was capturing and utilizing the Clow Cards, but in the event that it was a burglar in the basement, the "beak" could easily be used to render them unconscious._

_I smiled, remembering that was exactly how I captured The Fight card, with Meiling's help, of course._

_"Hello? Is anyone down here?" I called out uncertainly._

_Naturally, there was no reply. Either nothing was going on in the basement, or whatever was causing "something" didn't want to be found. I gulped, because it was most likely the latter._

_I turned the corner into another row of dusty books from the university. The basement was first and foremost my dad's library. It also happened to be the place where I discovered the magical Clow Book that fateful day._

_There was a slight glow emanating from the top drawer of the desk. As I approached the desk, the glow seemed to pulsate in anticipation. I closed my eyes and slid the drawer open. When nothing happened, I opened my eyes and peered inside the drawer. It was a deck of cards._

_I picked up the deck to look at the cards more closely. They looked like Clow Cards, but there were also several noticeable differences. Is this really it? I couldn't help but wonder. I had assumed that whatever was down here must have been huge, but if it was truly just these cards, then they must pack a powerful punch._

_I stowed the deck in my pocket and climbed back up the stairs. I held on to the railing as the wood creaked beneath my feet. When I reached the top, Kero was no longer there waiting for me. So much for reliable._

_With a sigh, I turned and ascended the stairs up to my room. Inevitably, Kero was waiting there. But instead of playing video games, he was sitting by the window staring at the moon. He was transfixed by the large, white orb. Kero didn't notice me until I closed the door behind me softly._

_"Sorry, Sakura. Your brother came home, so I had to come back up here. I really do think he's catching on," he said._

_"That's okay, it was really nothing down there," I said._

_"Are you ever gonna tell him?" Kero asked._

_"About me being a Card Captor? I don't think he'd believe me if I did."_

_"You might be surprised," he said._

_"Maybe I'll tell him someday," I finally consented._

_"Yeah, maybe," Kero said flatly. "Well, goodnight, Sakura."_

_He climbed into my bottom desk drawer, where he had a little room of his own. I pulled back the covers and crawled into my own bed._

_"Goodnight, Kero."_


	3. Almost Late

**Author's Notes: **Well, now that I've started adding these things I can't very well stop, now can I? I've been rereading this as I've been posting it, and I can't help but notice how childish the writing style is. (Which, considering it's supposed to be told from a ten-year-old's point of view, primarily, isn't such a bad thing, but still. I'm glad I've improved a bit since writing this.)

Enjoy!

* * *

**(Sakura's POV)**

"Sakura! Wake up! Do you know what time it is already?" Kero yelled in my ear.

I struggled under the covers, flailing wildly to escape the tangled sheets. I only succeeded in getting myself trapped in a cocoon of my comforter. With a sigh, I rolled off the bed and crashed onto the floor. Calmly, I freed myself from the sheets, stood up, and brushed myself off.

Then the sound of my alarm clock rushed in. I ran back over to the bed to shut it off and check the time.

"Oh, no! We're supposed to be at Tomoyo's house in 15 minutes!" I shouted, running around my room.

I hastily threw the disheveled covers back onto my bed and started to get dressed. I stumbled blindly into the bathroom while my shirt was stuck over my head. Then, I quickly brushed my teeth and hair.

"Hurry, Sakura!" Kero called.

He grabbed the deck of cards from my desk and put them into my backpack. I picked Kero up, set him in my backpack, ran out of my room, and bounded down the stairs. Dad was making breakfast by the stove, while Toya was drinking coffee at the table.

"Morning!" I greeted, putting my bag on the back of the chair.

"You were really loud, stomping around like a dinosaur," Toya teased.

"I'm only loud when I'm in a hurry, Toya."

"Whatever, little sis."

Toya drained the rest of his coffee cup and stood up. He grabbed his bag and headed out the door. Dad set a huge stack of pancakes down in front of me. They were almost too pretty to eat, with whipped cream and strawberries on top. My dad is a great cook.

I shoveled pancake after pancake into my mouth. Kero uttered a small cry that was muffled by my backpack, but it still caused my dad to look up.

"What was that?" he asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Nothing," I said, pushing myself away from the table and standing up.

I took my dishes over to the sink and gave my dad a hug. Then I took my backpack off the chair, slung it over my shoulder, and headed for the door. I put on my rollerblades and sped out the door.

"Forgetting something?" my dad called.

I spun to a halt. "Oh!"

I raced back to the door, where my dad was holding my knee and elbow pads.

"Thanks, Dad!"

He smiled and walked back inside as I shot off around the corner. I glided as fast as my skates would take me, racing against the clock to Tomoyo's house. Kero climbed out of my backpack and sat on my shoulder.

"You know, Kero, that was cutting it close, back in the kitchen," I chided.

"But those pancakes smelled good, and I'm hungry!"

"I'm sure Tomoyo fixed you some treats. She sure does like you."

Kero grinned. The air smelled good after a long rain. It was clean and fresh. Some of the trees were still soaked from the recent storm. I closed my eyes and leaned back, letting the sun warm my face. It was a great summer day.

Tomoyo lived in a huge house on the edge of town. Her mother was the president of a big toy company, so Tomoyo gets to try out a lot of the products they sell. A lot of it comes in handy when capturing cards. She's also the only person I know who has bodyguards.

Tomoyo has a beautiful singing voice. Even the Clow Cards thought so. She was a really big help capturing the Song Card, because she lured it out of hiding with her voice. And I'll never forget how bad I felt when the Voice Card stole her singing voice before her big choir concert. But it all turned out okay because Syaoran helped me.

"Hey, isn't that it?" asked Kero, pointing.

"Huh?" I skidded to a halt.

Sure enough, we were right outside the big white gate of Tomoyo's house. I guess I had been so busy daydreaming I had forgotten where I was going. I pressed the button on the gate.

"Hello?" said the voice from the box.

"It's Sakura Kinomoto; I'm here to see Tomoyo."

"Come on in." The gate swung open.

The grounds around Tomoyo's house were as beautiful as ever. There was a huge fountain in the center of the yard. Several gardeners were busy trimming the hedges and pruning the large rose bushes. Lawn mowers whirred loudly from either side of the house.

"I'd forgotten how pretty Tomoyo's house was," I said aloud, to no one in particular.

Tomoyo was waiting for us on the front steps. I skated up to the door and stopped.

"Are we late?"

"No, you're just in time. Syaoran and Meiling aren't here yet. Come inside, and we can start making tea and cookies," Tomoyo said.

"Alright!" Kero cheered.

"Mm-hm," I agreed.

I pulled off my skates and followed Tomoyo into the house. She led me into the large kitchen, which was usually swarming with cooks, but they had the day off today. Tomoyo began pulling ingredients off the shelves.

"We should make a cake," Kero said.

"Good idea. Sakura, do you want to make the tea?" Tomoyo asked.

I nodded, filling the teapot with water from the sink and setting it on the stove burner. I heard a loud thump, then a giggle, and turned around to see Kero covered in flour.

"Oh, Kero." I sighed happily.

When we were done baking, we sat back and admired our handiwork. A large strawberry shortcake, a plate of cookies, and four cups of tea sat on a tray to be carried up to Tomoyo's room, as soon as Syaoran and Meiling arrived. I carefully dropped a sugar cube in each cup of tea.

"Perfect timing," Tomoyo said.

I turned around; standing in the doorway were Syaoran and Meiling.


	4. Guesses

**Author's Notes: **I'm running out of witty things to say here. It's 1:35 A.M. But I'm trying to post everything up until chapter seven, which could use a little work yet.

* * *

**(Sakura's POV)**

"Hello, Kid and Brat," Kero greeted jokingly.

"Good morning, stuffed animal," Syaoran replied.

"Sorry we're late," Meiling said, "it took us a while to find the house."

"That and she almost burned the kitchen down making her 'famous' charcoal cake," Syaoran whispered to me.

I laughed. Meiling was not the world's greatest cook, but she was a great athlete and an amazing fighter. She didn't have any magic powers, but she'd helped me capture cards more times than I could count.

Tomoyo picked up the tray. "Okay, let's go up to my room."

Tomoyo led us up the grand staircase and along a thickly-carpeted hallway. We stepped lightly on the plush-covered floor until we reached the door to her room. Tomoyo smiled as she reached for the doorknob, probably anticipating the reaction she would get from Syaoran and Meiling.

Her room was very cute. There were plush toys nearly everywhere, free samples from her mother's toy company. Off to the side was Tomoyo's own personal home theater, where she watched and edited all the card-capturing footage she recorded with her video camera. The back wall was dominated by a large bay window that overlooked her mother's garden.

In front of the window sat a table surrounded by soft, comfortable chairs.

"This… is your room?" asked Syaoran.

"It's huge!" Meiling said.

Tomoyo smiled. "Are we here to talk Clow Cards or what?" she asked.

"Oh, right."

I got the cards out of my bag and spread them out on the table. There were ten cards in all. Tomoyo set the tray down, and she, Meiling, and Syaoran sat around the table.

"Let's see…" said Meiling, picking up a card.

"The Memory," she read.

The card portrayed an image of a heart bound in heavy chains. In the center of the heart was a keyhole. The chains created a thick web that extended over the entire card.

Meiling held another card up next to it, comparing the two. She turned over the card so we could see it. The Key.

"Maybe it's a matching game? This card has a keyhole, and this card has a key."

"I don't think so. What does a key have to do with memory?" Syaoran asked.

"The key could unlock the heart's secrets," Meiling said.

The Key showed an unusual-looking key. It looked more like a weapon than it did a tool. The key was long, shaped like a sword, and had a handle. It was a blade of twisted, cold metal. Attached to the end was a peculiar keychain, which looked just like the head of my Clow Wand.

"It could be a puzzle," Tomoyo suggested, holding up two cards.

The Nobody and The Somebody looked remarkably similar to each other. The Somebody was a picture of a girl standing in front of a mirror, facing away from it. The Nobody's illustration was of another girl turned away from a mirror, but it appeared to be a reflection of the other card. When placed back to back, the two girls appeared to be looking away from each other.

"Is that… me?" I asked, pointing at The Somebody card.

Syaoran picked up the card. "I think it is."

"And what about the other one?" Tomoyo wondered.

"She looks like Sakura too," Meiling observed.

"They're not the same," Syaoran said.

He was right. The Sakura in the card was simply wearing a school uniform. The girl on the Nobody card was wearing a black cloak, and her hair was slightly different. But they had the same bright, green eyes.

"Hey, check out the mirror," Tomoyo noted.

Each mirror showed a reflection of the girl from the opposite card.

"This is just too weird," Meiling said.

"Time for cake!" Kero shouted.

"Good call," Syaoran said.

Meiling stuck a bite of cake in her mouth and swallowed it. "So, what do you think, Syaoran?"

"Huh?"

"About the cards," Tomoyo said, "You haven't told us what you think they are yet."

"Well," Syaoran began, "If they're put in the right order… I think they tell a story."

"Really? They don't look like they belong in any particular order to me," I said.

Syaoran shrugged. "So, what about the other cards?"

"The Fate and The Destiny might match."

I held out the two cards to him.

"And there's The Heartless…"

The Heartless didn't have a definite shape. It showed a swarming mass of tangled black limbs and a sea of round, yellow eyes. They looked kind of like ants. Evil, possessed ants.

"The Door," I continued, "and The Darkness."

The Door depicted a tall, gleaming white door that looked quite impressive. It was the same size as an ordinary door, but much more decorated. The Darkness, on the other hand, was a dark purple haze that originated from a sinister looking portal. Both were doorways – one of light and one of dark.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked.

I must have been staring into space again.

"Oh, nothing."

"Kero," Meiling started, "do you sense anything? Do these cards have powers?"

Kero shook his head.

"I can't feel anything either," Syaoran said.

"That's what's so confusing about them. They just showed up in the strangest way, but the cards don't act like the Clow Cards do."

"Maybe they do have powers and they're just… waiting," Tomoyo offered.

"There has to be something magical about them. Those cards are definitely not from around here," Syaoran said.

"I was gonna say that!" Kero yelled.

"This is important. We need to figure out what these cards are."

"Aw," Meiling pouted, "I thought we were going to the beach this summer!"

Tomoyo laughed. "There will always be time for the beach."

"And the playground, and the amusement park, and the summer festival, of course," I added.

We sat in silence for a minute, simply enjoying the fact that we were all together this summer. Tomoyo was messing with her video camera. Meiling was absentmindedly playing with her long, dark hair. Syaoran had his eyes closed and was resting his chin on his knees, probably just thinking. And Kero was shoveling yet more cake into his tiny mouth. I glanced down at my watch. "Oh!"

"I didn't realize what time it was," said Tomoyo. "It doesn't feel like it's been very long, does it?"

Meiling shook her head, her long pigtails moving from side to side.

"It's my turn to cook dinner tonight," I said, getting up.

I grabbed the cards off the table and shoved them into my backpack. Kero quickly jumped into my bag, and I ran down the hall. Tomoyo followed us downstairs, while Syaoran and Meiling stayed behind in her room. I grabbed my skates by the front door, and put them on sitting on the stairs out front.

"Goodbye!" said Tomoyo.

I waved back as I turned around the corner. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Syaoran and Meiling rush to the door just as Tomoyo was about to go back inside. I shrugged and continued to skate home.

The sun was setting, painting the world a twilight orange.

xXx

"Tomoyo, she left a card behind," Syaoran said, holding the card out to her.

"The Door," Tomoyo read, taking the card from him.

"She's gone already?" Meiling asked.

"Yes, but I'll hold on to it for her and make sure she gets it back," Tomoyo said.

"Okay," Syaoran agreed.

"We should probably get going," said Meiling.

Meiling and Syaoran walked down the driveway and on to the next street, walking home the opposite way Sakura had gone. Tomoyo watched them until she could no longer see them.

"The Door," she read again as she turned to go inside, closing the door behind her.


	5. Penguin Park

**Author's Notes: **1:41 A.M. And I stayed up late last night, and spent 5 hours in a car today. And I will be exhausted tomorrow, so hopefully Izzy and Erica won't kill me.

* * *

**(Sakura's POV)**

"Huh?"

I sat up in bed and looked slowly around my room, trying to remember why I had woken up. There it was. Someone was calling loudly and knocking on my door. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and walked over to the door, shutting the drawer that housed Kero's room on the way.

"Sakura! You awake?" said the muffled voice from the other side of the door.

"Coming!" I called.

I reached the door and opened it, surprised to see Toya standing in the hallway.

"Morning."

"Hey. Yukito and I are going to the park and we were wondering if you wanted to come with us," he said.

"Penguin Park?" I asked.

"You're still dreaming, aren't you?" Toya said sarcastically.

"You could say that," I remarked thoughtfully.

"Well, if you're coming with us, then be dressed and downstairs in five minutes."

He turned and walked down the hallway, and then descended the stairs. I went back into my room and frantically rushed to get ready. Kero was shouting and pounding on the drawer.

"Oh! Sorry," I said, running over to my desk and pulling the drawer open. I rushed over to the bathroom.

"You scared the heck out of me, Sakura! I was asleep!" Kero gasped.

"I said I was sorry," I called, putting my hair up.

"You're in a hurry. Where are you going?" Kero asked.

"I'm going to the park with Yukito and Toya."

Kero flew out of the drawer and sat himself on top of my desk. He pulled the Clow Book from the top drawer and looked over it quietly. Then he spoke up.

"Sakura, you don't still like Yukito, do you?" Kero asked suddenly.

I stopped in my tracks and stared down at the floor. I thought about it for a minute, and then I answered.

"No, Kero. I haven't liked him as anything more than a friend since I found out he was Yue at my judgment," I answered solemnly.

Clow Reed created two guardians when he created the Clow Book and Cards: Kero and Yue. Kero's power was of the Sun, and Yue controlled the Moon. The two guardians were meant to balance each other out, as Kero was unusually compassionate, and Yue was practically emotionless.

Because a fully grown man with silvery hair and wings and a golden, winged lion would hardly go unnoticed, they had to change their appearances to something more normal. Kero slightly resembled a plush toy, and Yue was Yukito Tsukishiro. The only difference was that Kero, no matter what form he chose, was himself, while Yukito was completely unaware that he was Yue.

As for the judgment, Kero's job was to choose candidates to succeed Clow Reed as Master or Mistress of the Cards, and Yue's job was to test them, as the Judge. The judgment was hard, because I was afraid to hurt Yukito, but Yue wasn't holding back. It was a miracle I passed, especially because Syaoran failed.

"Well, have fun at the park, Sakura," Kero said.

I'd been daydreaming again, I realized. "Y-yeah, I will."

I ran downstairs, grabbing my bag and my skates by the door. Yukito and Toya had already left, but if I skated as fast as my legs could carry me, I could probably catch up with them before they got to the end of my street. Sure enough, they were just about the turn the corner.

I took long, quick, slicing strides towards them.

"Wait up!" I shouted, cupping my hands around my mouth.

I sped up, taking longer glides and using my arms to propel myself forward. As I shot past them, Toya grabbed my arm and spun me to a halt. I put my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath.

"Hi, Sakura," said Yukito.

I smiled. "Hi, Yukito."

Yukito and Toya walked the rest of the way to the park in silence, and I skated behind them quietly. Penguin Park was appropriately named, for in the center of the park was a large, blue slide in the shape of a penguin. There was also a swing set and a jungle gym, but other than that, Penguin Park was a giant sandbox.

I sat down on the nearest swing and started to take my rollerblades off. I hadn't thought to bring another pair of shoes, so I also pulled my socks off and went barefoot. Yukito sat down on the swing neighboring mine, and Toya leaned against a pole. There was a vendor parked across the street, selling drinks and ice cream.

"Do you guys want anything?" Toya asked.

"Can I have a lemon soda?" I said.

"I want one of everything," Yukito said happily.

Toya looked incredulously at Yukito, who only grinned. He wasn't kidding.

"Right then," said Toya, walking across the park to the vendor.

Instead of swinging in the swing, I spun around in tight circles while the world rushed past in a whirl of color. As the swing slowed down, I could see what was standing still more clearly. Tree, slide, Yukito, another tree. The swing stopped suddenly, throwing me from my seat.

"Are you alright?" asked Yukito.

"Yeah, nothing's broken." I sat up and got back in the swing, this time just sitting still.

"So, why did you and Toya want to come to the park today?" I asked.

"Because we're going off the college when school starts up again," he answered.

I nearly fell out of the swing again. College? Toya hadn't said anything about that to me. I spun in the swing again, this time more slowly so I could see and not get dizzy. Someone dressed in black was running through the forest. I dug my heels into the ground to stop and ran off towards the edge of the trees.

"Sakura?" Yukito asked.

I kept running. I heard Yukito get up and follow me, but I kept running. If I stopped to answer him, I might miss my chance. So I kept moving.

"Hey!" I shouted, still running towards the forest.

"Sakura!" Yukito called behind me.

The person froze. I reached the tree line and skidded to a halt.

"Who are you?" I asked.

They mumbled something I couldn't hear – but it was definitely a boy's voice. So it wasn't who I thought it was, the girl from The Nobody card. The girl from my dream. He held out a hand, which I hesitated to take. By the time I reached my hand out a little, Yukito had caught up with me.

I looked away for a second. "Sorry, Yukito. I didn't mean to run off like that."

"What were you running after?" he asked.

I turned back to face the boy, but he wasn't there any more. He just vanished.

"Where'd he go?" I asked Yukito.

"Where did who go? I just saw you run off towards the woods. There was no one else," he answered.

Yukito looked concerned, and I had to admit I was a little worried myself. If Yukito couldn't see him… why could I? Or was he really there at all? I stared down at the ground as we walked back to the park, wondering.

"Are you guys okay?" asked Toya.

"Yeah, we're fine. Sakura said she saw…" Yukito trailed off.

"I saw a squirrel," I lied. I didn't intend to tell Toya until I had figured it out for myself.

"Here's your soda, squirt," said Toya.

"Thanks, Toya. I think I'm going to head home now," I said, putting on my roller blades.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Yukito asked.

"Yes, I'm just a little tired," I said firmly.

It was a perfectly normal excuse, and it even made sense. Maybe I was hallucinating because I was overly tired. I doubted it. This was definitely unexpected.


	6. Darkness

**Author's Notes: **Last chapter of tonight. I no longer have the ability to name give my documents coherent titles, so they're just random strings of letters now. And then I really do have to sleep.

Enjoy!

* * *

**(Sakura's POV)**

After I told Kero about the events of the park, I decided to give Tomoyo a call.

"Hello?" came Tomoyo's voice over the phone.

"Hey, Tomoyo," I said.

"What's up, Sakura?" she asked.

"Something totally weird happened at the park today," I said.

"What?"

I proceeded to explain to Tomoyo what had happened. I needed to tell someone about it; I needed someone to believe me.

"And the weirdest thing was that Yukito couldn't see him at all. He just disappeared," I finished.

"That is weird," she agreed. "Do you think it has something to do with those cards?"

"I just don't know, Tomoyo."

"Oh! You left something at my house the other day," she said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"You left The Door card," she elaborated.

I picked up the deck that was sitting on my desk and shuffled through it. Sure enough, The Door was missing. I rifled through the deck again; one of the cards was glowing. It jumped out of my hand.

"Hey, get back here!" I shouted.

"Sakura? Is everything okay?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yeah," I said, making another grab for the card. "Everything's fine."

"I'll bring the card over, okay?"

"That would be great," I said again, reaching for the card, which jerked out of my grasp.

I couldn't identify the card; it was shining a brilliant light blue. The card moved farther away each time I attempted to seize it.

"Sakura, what's going on?" Tomoyo asked.

"Nothing," I said hurriedly, still trying to capture the rogue card.

It leaped across the room, and as I reached for it, the desk chair I was sitting in crashed to the floor. I dropped the phone, which slid halfway across the floor.

"Sakura!" Tomoyo shouted.

I got up and grabbed the phone while the card landed on top of the TV set.

"What was that?"

"Sorry, I'm having a little card trouble," I said as I bounded over to the card.

The card jumped again, over the gap onto my bed. I ran over to my bed and threw myself on it, once again missing the card as it sprang to my desk. The card was mocking me.

"Card trouble? What's all that thumping and banging around?" Tomoyo asked, confused.

I quietly approached the card, moving very slowly over to the desk. I carefully extended my arm and let my hand hover above the card. I moved my hand ever so slightly and brought it down suddenly, pinning the card to the table.

"It's okay. Problem solved," I said triumphantly.

I was wrong. The card remained still for a moment, but it continued to glow fluorescently. I relaxed my grip a little, and that was all it took. The card seized its chance and flew out of my hand and out the window. I yelled, reaching my hand out only too late. It continued its suicidal descent.

"Sakura! Will you please tell me what is going on!?" Tomoyo said.

"The card… it just… jumped out the window," I said lamely. "I have to go get it back. Just, bring the card over, okay?"

"Thank you," Tomoyo said exasperatedly. "I'm on my way."

I hung up the phone and dropped it on the desk. I grabbed a jacket on my way out of my room. Kero, who had been curled up on my pillow, suddenly stirred.

"What's going on?" he asked tiredly.

"One of the cards escaped. Wait here, I'll be right back," I said, running out of my room and slamming the door behind me.

Outside, it was dark and cold, windy and cloudy. The street lamps hadn't come on yet, so the only available light was that of the moon. The glowing card was teasing me, floating halfway down the street. It expected me to chase it, follow it to wherever it was leading me, where, inevitably, something bad would happen.

I ran down the street after it, closing my eyes to shield them from the first drops of rain. I was mesmerized by the rhythmic pounding of my feet against the pavement, until I ran into something that brought me out of my trance. "Something" happened to have arms, because they caught me as I stumbled backwards.

"Yukito!"

"What are you doing out here at this time of night?" he asked, puzzled.

I was at a loss for words. I couldn't explain what I was doing. My thoughts panicked, forcing to the top of my head the first words I could think of.

"You won't tell Toya, will you? Dad's not at home and Toya will get in trouble if Dad finds out that I'm out here," I stuttered.

"Toya let you leave the house after dark?"

"Not exactly," I admitted.

"Well, I won't tell him. It's not my place."

He rested a hand on my shoulder. "Just do what you need to do."

I nodded gratefully, and continued running down the sidewalk, where the card waited, taunting me. When it was within my reach, I pounced for the card, landing on the wet concrete as the card moved away. The card quivered for a minute, as if it were laughing at me.

"Shut up," I said, getting up, brushing myself off, and continuing the chase.

I didn't dare to grab for the card again. The card led me all the way to Penguin Park, and into the heart of the woods, where a clearing resided. It stopped its eerie glow and fell to the ground in the middle of the field. I approached it, leaned over, and picked it up.

The Darkness. The wind whistled through the trees, and birds flew out of the branches, silhouetted against the cloudy dusk sky. A low rumble echoed around the edge of the forest, as if something large were headed this way. I turned around slowly, my hand automatically reaching for my Clow Key.

Then I saw it – a huge pair of yellow eyes, shining out of the depths of the shadow of a tall tree. I took a step back, and stumbled as a dark shape rose out of the shadow. At its full height, the creature easily towered over the trees around it.

There was a large hole where its stomach should be, in the shape of a heart. Its face appeared to be comprised of snakes, similar to Medusa. As the creature rose higher and higher, I ran backwards to the tree line. I couldn't make it any farther, because my path was blocked by a dozen or so smaller monsters.

"O Key of Clow, Power of Magic, Power of Light. Surrender the wand; the force, ignite. Release!" I shouted, summoning my weapon.

The small, dark creatures leapt at me, scratching me with their tiny, but still very sharp claws. I swung at them with the Clow Wand, but they seemed to multiply as the moon hid behind the clouds. With my only exit blocked, I ran back to the giant monster.

It reached it large hand out towards me. I jumped out of the way just in time to see it demolish the trees behind me. As I started to stand up, I faltered a bit, just enough to give the creature time to grab me with its other hand.

I struggled in its tight grip, but I couldn't move any of my limbs. Its hand was bigger than I was. The creature moved his hand backwards, and hurled me into the sky. I pulled out a card as I flew through the air.

"Light Card! Release and dispel!" I screamed, now falling.

A bright light engulfed the entire clearing. I heard the creature howl, but whether it was in rage or pain, I couldn't tell. Blinded by the light, I continued my swift, headfirst plunge. My back hit the ground hard with a sickening thump. Then the light finally faded.

The creature was doubled over, dissolving before my eyes. As a creature of pure darkness, the light had destroyed it. The monster staggered for a minute, almost as if it was drunk, and then it fell forward, vanishing into thin air as it collided with the ground, on top of me.

I couldn't move, only watch as the darkness tainted the ground, creating pools of dark shadows. The darkness blanketed the clearing, the thick purple mist eclipsing the moon. Unable to move, I closed my eyes and blacked out.

xXx

Tomoyo rang the doorbell at the Kinomoto house. She was surprised to see Kero open the door.

"Kero? Where is everyone?"

"Toya's asleep in his room and Sakura went chasing after a card," said Kero.

"Well, I came to give her-" Tomoyo held the card out to Kero, but turned around abruptly.

A dark dome hovered over the forest in the park.

"Sakura."


	7. Eclipse

**Author's Notes: **Wow, chapter seven is short. Don't blink, or you might just miss it. I added a few paragraphs, but since the chapter's a little thin on dialogue, it didn't do much good. At any rate: enter the OC. If you read the story before (or if you name is Izzy or Erica), then you know that this character's name used to be Lily, but it's Yuri now. Which means the same thing, just in Japanese versus English. (I changed it to keep the language of the names consistent.)

* * *

**(Yuri's POV)**

I tore through the streets of Dark City with reckless abandon. With its dark, winding, unfamiliar twists and turns, the city was worse than The Maze card. Except with buildings instead of hedges. Which really wouldn't have been so bad, if it weren't for the fact that I was being chased.

I turned a sharp corner on to the next, equally shady, alley. I had to be careful, because I really couldn't afford to run into a dead end. The wet pavement was slippery and difficult to run on, but I had no choice. Or did I?

I held out the small, pink key that I wore around my neck. Holding my arm out in front of me as I ran, I tried to recall how I came to possess such a thing. No answers came immediately to mind.

"Release!"

The key transformed itself into a long, but still pink, staff. I scolded myself mentally for shouting, because that would easily give me away. Unless my plan worked, and then I would be out of here.

"Fly! Jump! Do something!" I yelled, still running, but taking small leaps every few steps.

Needless to say, my plan wasn't working. The cards weren't cooperating, and because I had made so much noise, I was more paranoid than ever. _They_ had to have heard that, and it was made even worse by the fact that it was my voice. If it had been a crash, they might have just assumed it was a stray Dusk.

I skidded to a halt, having reached a fork in the winding, angular path between the buildings. Directly in front of me was a colossal structure, and to either side, two alleys framed by walls so high that they prevented even the smallest sliver of moonlight from illuminating the way.

I resisted the urge to use The Maze card, but though it would have thrown them off track, it would have disoriented me further, something I couldn't risk. So I kept running. The heart-shaped moon illuminated the dark streets, guiding my way. But it was also guiding _theirs_.

I tried again. "Float! Dash!"

Failure. I slipped on the slick pavement and crashed on to the ground. My eyes met two big, round bright yellow eyes. I scrambled to my feet as quickly as I could. In the shadow of the towering building, the eyes of several Heartless were all I could see.

As I continued to press on, the Shadows grabbed at my feet and tried to pull me back down. I knocked them away with my staff, clearing a path through the narrow alleyway. They were definitely catching up now, I was positive.

The Loop card would have helped, I was certain. But because my last several attempts to use the cards hadn't worked, I decided not to take that chance. I'd made too much noise already. I was running out of breath by the time I reached the square.

Looming over the square was Memory's Skyscraper. The tall tower nearly touched the dark, starless sky. The warm light shining in the windows of the ground floor looked so comforting, but it was no use. No one here could help me.

Listening to the rhythmic pounding of my shoes against the ground, a pain entered my head, accompanied by brief flashes of memories. But whose? Surely, not mine. The girl in the recollections looked only remotely like me, not enough for me to even consider that we were related, let alone the same person.

The fragmented memories grew increasingly painful as they began to arrive more frequently. Cards. Magic. Friends.

"Stop!" I shouted, cradling my head in my hands as if only that would keep my skull from falling apart. They did.

A streak of lightning lit up the sky and thunder rumbled ominously as if the sky were tearing apart. After the bright flash, the darkness around me seemed even more sinister and uninviting than before. The tall buildings appeared forlorn and desolate silhouetted against the heavy gray clouds. I shivered, but not from the damp chill in the air.

I turned to keep moving, I was almost there. But something caught my arm. Thinking it was a Dusk, or a Neo Shadow, I tried to shrug it off and keep running. As I took off again, I was pulled backwards, and I knew then that this was no Heartless.

I spun on my heel to see what was holding my arm. What I saw filled me with an icy cold fear. My captor was wearing a black cloak – he was one of them. I tried to pull away again, but his grip on my arm was firm. He didn't move and inch, or release my arm, either.

"Let go!" I cried, tugging my arm, but getting nowhere.

He said nothing, gave no indication that he had even heard me. But his hand remained on my arm, preventing me from making my escape. So close.

"I said, lemme go!" I shouted again, this time kicking him in the shin.

The boy crumpled, his hand immediately jumping from my arm to his leg. I took the chance and ran into the next alley, jumping over a group of crates. But something was wrong, I knew, because I had been running from two people, not one. I looked back briefly, just in time to see a taller man help the boy up.

I rounded a dark corner, but the next street was cloaked in shadow. The taller man was coming after me now, while his friend took a seat on the stairs of the skyscraper. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and held my arms out in front of me, running down the narrow passageway blindly. Even with my eyes open, it was too dark to see.

I darted in between the crates that occasionally clogged the alleyway, vigilantly stepping around them or leaping over them. If I had taken the right turn, I was now in Fragment Crossing, and as soon as I made it to the Alley to Between I was home free. There were far too many people in Twilight Town for them to find me there.

I dashed around the last corner – into a brick wall. I fell back, down onto the ground. In my hurry to break away from the boy, I must have taken the wrong turn. Now I was hopelessly lost, disoriented, and I still had not succeeded in shaking the other man off my trail.

Staring up at the building that blocked my way, a small flicker of light caught the corner of my eye. I turned around; it was a small flame. The glow was emanating from a small tongue of fire balanced on the tip of the man's finger. I backed up; eventually, my back pressed up firmly against the wall. I was trapped.

My head in my hands, I slid down the wall, curling into a ball at the base of the building. I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them tightly, resting my head on my knees. A tear ran down my face – just one – but I quickly brushed it away.

"Come on, Yuri. No more running away, it's time to meet the Organization."


	8. Sky

**Author's Notes: **After this point, (or rather the point of chapter six) you should get used to the story jumping around a bit - between Sora and Sakura, Yuri and the Organization, and - hey wait, what about Sakura's friends? Of course they're still part of the story! And by "jumping around a bit", what I really mean is "it will switch point-of-view and perspective every other freakin' chapter".

Enjoy!

* * *

**(Sakura's POV)**

_It was the dream again._

_I was standing on a stained glass platform that depicted me and several of my friends. Across from me, on the other side of the station, was the girl. As always, the girl was wearing a black coat, and I was unable to see her face, hidden in the shadow of its hood._

_"Please… who are you?" I asked._

_The girl hesitated. "I was hoping… that you could tell me."_

_I had been about to say something, answer her, but I was thrown from my dream. My body was waking up, but… where was I?_

xXx

I stirred, regaining consciousness slowly. My eyes fluttered, giving me a brief, blurry image of my surroundings and shutting it out just as quickly, like a camera. I blinked a couple times, trying to focus my vision just enough to see where I was.

It was bright. I was in a white room, bathed in brilliant sunlight pouring in through a large bay window. I sat up, staring around the room. The entire room was white, no other colors at all. As I yawned and stretched, I pulled back the covers and got out of the large, four-poster bed I had been sleeping in.

I crossed the room to look out of the window, to see what kind of place this might be. From the window, I could see a lush, green courtyard with neatly manicured hedges. In the center of the garden sat a small guard house, an island floating in a sea of emerald grass. Wrapped around the courtyard was a large, white castle.

"Oh, good, you're awake."

"Huh?"

I turned around; standing in the doorway was a boy with spiked brown hair and ocean blue eyes. He walked into the room and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed.

"Who are you? What is this place?" I asked, both eagerly and uncertainly.

He laughed. "Slow down, there will be plenty of time for a Q and A later. My name's Sora, and this place is Disney Castle."

"So, Sora," I continued my interrogation, "How did I end up here?"

"Beats me, but you were a Heartless when you showed up here in the castle," he answered.

"A what?"

"A Heartless. A creature that's lost its heart to the darkness, um…"

"Sakura," I offered.

"Right. Sakura. Maybe if I tell you everything that's happened since your arrival, you'll remember how you got here," Sora said.

I nodded. Hopefully something Sora said would bring my memories back to me.

xXx

_"King Mickey! Sora! Come quick!" Queen Minnie squealed, rushing into the room._

_"What is it, Your Majesty?" Sora asked._

_"Minnie! What's wrong?" Mickey echoed._

_"Something's terribly wrong in the Hall of the Cornerstone!"_

_King Mickey turned to Sora, who offered a shrug in reply, getting up to follow the Queen out of the room. Queen Minnie had gathered up the edge of her flowing, pink dress to run without it hindering her movement. The King sighed and followed the two down the hall._

_Mickey, Minnie, and Sora rushed through the white hallway, passing several unnecessarily large doors en route to the Throne Room. They passed the enchanted brooms at work doing their daily chores, and nearly ran into poor Pluto, who had been hoping that Mickey would take him for a walk that morning._

_The three ran hurriedly to the Audience Chamber, a long, white room adorned with a red carpet that covered the entire path from the door to the throne. Sora, Minnie, and Mickey followed the carpet to the far end of the room, where the throne was seated on a blue platform several inches above the rest of the floor. Queen Minnie pressed a switch on the arm of the throne, and the platform slid out of the way, revealing a set of stairs that led deep into the heart of Disney Castle._

_A bright light filled the room, temporarily blinding the party. When the light faded, Mickey and Sora followed her down the flight of steps into the Hall of the Cornerstone. At first, neither Sora nor Mickey could see what was wrong. But Minnie frantically pointed to a small, black creature stumbling about in the light._

_"Heartless!" King Mickey shouted._

_"So that's a Heartless…" Minnie said thoughtfully, having never seen one herself before._

_Sora turned his head to the side. "I don't think that's a Heartless," he said. "I mean, it's not supposed to be a Heartless."_

_"What do you mean, Sora?" Mickey asked._

_King Mickey and Queen Minnie watched as Sora walked towards the Shadow._

_"Well, it's not attacking anything, and it looks almost like it's scared. Confused, at the least," he answered._

_He picked up the Heartless and hugged it tightly._

_"Sora! What are you doing?" Mickey cried._

_Queen Minnie watched silently as the Shadow revealed itself to be a small girl with mouse brown hair. She wasn't conscious; the girl appeared to be hurt. Sora set the girl back down and smiled knowingly at Mickey._

_"How did you…?" King Mickey trailed off._

_"I've been a Heartless before," Sora said bleakly._

xXx

"I remember… my room… the park… and that giant monster," I said, trying to recall the events of the night I fought the dark creature.

"Wait," said Sora, "What monster?"

"It was really tall; it had bright, yellow eyes… and there was a hole in the center of its chest, in the shape of a heart," I described, placing my thumb and forefingers together.

"Darkside," Sora stated.

"That's its name?" I asked.

Sora nodded grimly. "Darkside is no ordinary Heartless. It destroys worlds, Sakura."

I thought carefully. "I don't think that's what it was trying to do. Something summoned it."

"Like what?" Sora asked.

I held out The Darkness card to him.

"So… you called it?"

"_I _didn't call it; this thing did."

Sora looked puzzled. "That's not just a card, then?"

"No, Sora, it's not."

* * *

**More Author's Notes: **Gasp! Notes at the end of a chapter? Anyways, that hug between Sora and Sakura: my special way of saying that Kairi hugging Sora doesn't mean a damn thing. One of the things I like about this story is that the Card Captor Sakura characters are too young to ship (mostly) so I don't have to deal with pairings. Anyone else notice that the first chapter (which introduces Sakura) is called "Cherry Blossom" and the eighth chapter (which introduces Sora) is called "Sky"? (Don't worry; it won't happen again - Sora and Sakura are the only characters whose names I know in both English and Japanese. Or are they...?)


	9. Nobody

**Author's Notes: **(Running out of things to say) So... today we (Erica, Izzy, and I) went to a craft store to get some stuff for our cosplay. (We're going as the Twilight Gang - minus Roxas, plus Namine. Shocker there.) And it occured to us to buy several yards of multi-colored, glittery, and otherwise gay fabrics and make "Kingdom Hearts on Ice" costumes. I think it'd be a winner. Can anyone else see Hayner with a pink glittery dress and unmatching purple boa?

* * *

**(Yuri's POV)**

Since the night of the chase in Dark City, Roxas had taken to wearing shorts that displayed the grotesque, purple bruise that covered his left shin. He thought it made him look tough, or like he played sports at the very least. Axel, on the other hand, thought it made him look pretty pathetic, particularly since the bruise was given to him by a ten-year-old girl.

Both Nobodies were waiting. Roxas was curled up in a chair, drifting in and out of sleep, while Axel stared intently at a group of blankets gently rising and falling in the rhythm of breathing. Underneath the blankets, Yuri was asleep, dreaming without a care in the world. Somehow, she had managed to pull all the covers over her head unconsciously.

At the moment, Roxas was awake. He pulled his feet up on to the chair, and drew his legs to his chest.

"You awake?" Axel asked him.

"Yeah," he answered.

Axel nodded and turned his eyes back to the rising and falling heap of blankets. It was different to see a Nobody so young, he thought. Like visiting a sick kid in a hospital. The sight of her filled Axel with a tiredness he could not explain.

"How long is she gonna be asleep?" Roxas asked suddenly.

"I can't say; she was pretty scraped up when we brought her here."

"We didn't do that to her, did we?"

"No," Axel said, "Her Other was hurt when she became a Heartless, so Yuri was hurt when she was born. I guess that chase just took it all out of her."

"Is she gonna be okay?"

Axel couldn't help but smile. "Look at your shin. I think she'll be just fine. She just needs to rest."

Roxas grimaced. "She sure kicks hard for such a little girl."

xXx

I peered out over the edge of the blanket. Sitting in two chairs were my captors, but somehow they looked less intimidating without their hoods on. Both appeared to be asleep. The older man was a redhead, with strange markings under each of his eyes. The younger, who, I assumed from the bright purple bruise on his shin, must have been the one I kicked, was blonde.

I sat up, leaning back against the mound of pillows behind my head. There was a bandage wrapped tightly around my upper arm. As I pulled back the covers, I noticed that there was also a bandage on my right knee, visible through the hole I had worn in my jeans. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and placed my feet on the floor. I tested my legs; they _seemed_ strong enough.

I tried standing, but my legs weren't quite stable enough, and I fell to the floor, hitting my head on the edge of the bed in the process. This resulted in a large crash that woke the two boys. I snapped up, clutching my head, and sitting Indian-style on the white marble floor.

"Ow…" I said, rubbing my head.

"Hey! She's awake!" shouted the younger boy.

The redhead sighed. "You really think so?" he asked sarcastically.

"What's going on? Where am I? Who are you?" I asked.

"This is The Castle That Never Was," answered the redhead. "I'm Axel, and this bonehead is Roxas."

"Why does everyone call me that?" Roxas wondered aloud.

"Because it's your name."

"I meant 'bonehead'."

"Because you are one," continued Axel. "Any more questions?"

"Yeah," answered the blonde.

"I meant Yuri," said Axel, shaking his head.

I considered this for a moment. "No, I think that's everything I wanted to ask."

"Good, let's go, then," Axel said, standing.

"Go where?" Roxas asked.

"To see the Superior."

"Who's that?" I asked.

"The leader of the Organization. I'm not supposed to say anything else," Axel said.

I followed Axel and Roxas out of the room, out into a large, white corridor. From there, we started walking.

xXx

"Here it is, The Room of Sleep," Roxas said, indicating a door.

"That's a funny name for a room," I commented, pushing open the door, leaving Axel and Roxas behind.

Behind the door was a vast, white room, in the center of which sat a throne. I thought it might be empty at first, but as I closed the door softly behind me, something stirred. I turned back around, trapped in the stare of a copper-colored pair of eyes. I froze.

There was a man standing next to the throne; he had probably been sitting in it when I first entered the room, I realized. He also was dressed in a black cloak, with the hood pulled over his head so that all I could see of his face where those awful orange eyes.

"Yuri, Number XIV," said the man.

"Yes?" I asked uncertainly.

"Welcome to the Organization."

"What exactly is the Organization?"

"A group of Nobodies dedicated to researching the heart and its secrets. We are collecting hearts and gathering them to create a door, Kingdom Hearts, in the hope that we might be reunited with what we lost…" he answered longwindedly.

"Well, what's a Nobody?" I persisted.

"Nothing. A Nobody is the shadow of a heart that has left its body. We do not truly exist, nor can we fully exist without our hearts."

I remained silent.

"Do you know what your power is, Number XIV?" he asked.

"The Clow Cards," I mumbled.

"That's right…" he began.

"But," I interrupted, "They weren't exactly working earlier."

"Let me finish," the man snapped. "The cards were not working because I commanded them not to. This world is my domain, which I have total control over. I ordered the Clow Cards not to work because you would have escaped."

I was starting to see the big picture. Whoever this Superior was, he was no friend of mine.

"You will stay here, in The Castle That Never Was, to learn about the elements from the other members of my Organization," he continued.

"And if I refuse?" I said defiantly.

"You're a Nobody." He laughed coldly. "Who else would have you?"


	10. Journey

**Author's Notes: **Okay, this is the last pre-written chapter I have. I've got... about half of the next chapter started already, but I seem to have forgotten what direction I was going with it. Oh well. Almost forgot - we got an idea for a Kingdom Hearts Awards chapter today, so expect that soon. (Erica promised that if I wrote this one, she'd pick up the next.)

Enjoy!

* * *

**(Sakura's POV)**

"So, this is called a Clow Card?" Sora asked, examining The Windy.

"Uh-huh," I replied, lying on my back in the courtyard and staring up at the endless, cloudless blue sky.

The Windy was the first card I had ever captured. Actually, Windy never escaped, because I was holding it in my hand at the time I broke the seal on the Clow Book and released all the other cards. Nonetheless, it was my favorite card, and one I used quite frequently.

"What about you?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"Don't you have a weapon or magic?"

"Yeah, of course. I use the Keyblade," he answered.

"What's a Keyblade?"

Sora sat up, closed his eyes and extended his arm. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and a weapon appeared in his hand. I recognized it from The Key card.

"Wow! That's a Keyblade?" I asked excitedly.

"You bet," Sora replied.

I lay back down, letting the sun shine bright on my face. The green grass beneath my back was cool and refreshing. King Mickey rushed into the courtyard, winded from running. Sora sat up with a bemused look on his face.

"Your Majesty?" Sora asked.

The mouse caught his breath. "Master Yen Sid's looking for you two."

"Who's that?" I whispered.

"The King's teacher," he answered softly.

"He's waiting for you in Twilight Town. Take the Gummi Ship-"

"Yes!" Sora cheered.

"-to the train station and take the train." He turned to Sora. "You know which one."

"Yessir," Sora said, saluting.

"Good luck," Mickey said.

Sora yanked me to my feet. He pulled me into the guard house, which, I realized, was not a guard house at all, but a hangar, for whatever this Gummi Ship was. It was colder inside, and the metal floor clanked beneath our feet as we walked across it. A large flying ship hung from the ceiling, suspended from strong cables.

"You guys ready up there?" Sora called.

Two chipmunks scampered across the control panel, to where we could see them through the window, and gave a thumbs-up.

"That's Chip and Dale," said Sora, "The Gummi Ship experts."

I smiled and waved up at them. The one with the red nose tripped over a lever on the control panel and fell over. The black-nosed chipmunk helped the other to its feet, and pushed a button to release the ship.

"Here we go," Sora said, climbing into the ship.

I followed him, pulling myself up several rungs of a ladder to the door. Inside was larger than I expected. Nearly everything was metal, with wall-to-wall buttons, switches, and blinking lights. At the front of the ship, in the cockpit, were two large captain's chairs, and behind that, three smaller seats.

While I stood, taking in the ship and its various devices, Sora had strapped himself into one of the seats and flicked several levers. The ship began to rumble and shake, throwing me off balance and into a wall. I recovered quickly, running up to the second chair up front and sitting down to avoid getting knocked down by the next movement of the ship.

As I strapped myself in, the Gummi Ship rose off the ground, hovering above the floor. Sora signaled the two chipmunks, who opened the exit gateway by pressing another button. We carefully pulled out through the door, moving painfully slow. I looked out the window at the dark blue sky, or lack thereof, as we shot out into space.

xXx

Twilight Town was beautiful. The summer sunset sinking below the horizon set the hills on fire with vibrant colors, bright hues of red, orange, and yellow. Above the station loomed a handsome tower with an intricate clock face.

"Sora!"

Sora turned around; three kids were running towards us, two boys and a girl, about his age.

"Hi, Hayner. Pence. Olette. What are you guys up to?" Sora asked.

"We're going to the beach!" answered the girl, a brunette.

"Who's this?" asked the shorter boy, with dark hair that stood up ridiculously.

"This is Sakura," Sora said.

"Hi."

"Come on, we're gonna miss the train!" the last boy, a blonde shouted.

Sora laughed. "Nice to see you too, Hayner."

The three kids ran off into the station, and we followed them inside. Inside the station were two trains, a fairly normal-looking yellow-gold engine, and a midnight-blue train with ornate gold decorations and a smoke stack shaped like a wizard's hat. The door to the blue train slid open, as if waiting for us. We walked inside, and the door slid closed once again.

xXx

As we stepped off the train, it pulled away, leaving us stranded.

"Does it always do that?" I asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, nothing to worry about," Sora said, just as uneasily.

Before us stood a tall, twisting tower, with several spires and turrets. Its roof was blue, covered with paler blue stars, and slightly resembled the wizard hat on the train. From the varied shades of color in the sky, it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night, but judging from the time in Twilight Town, it must have been late afternoon.

"No sense in waiting, then," Sora said, walking towards the tower.

"I guess not," I agreed, walking behind him.

He knocked on the large, ornate wooden door. When nobody answered, he pushed the door open and walked inside. It was cold within, and the small room had a very foreboding atmosphere.

"Look out!" Sora shouted.

I turned around; one of the Shadows from the park was behind me. Sora sliced it with his Keyblade.

"What was that?" I asked, still shocked.

"A Heartless."

"I've seen them before…"

Just to be safe, I summoned my weapon before we ran up the spiral staircase. I took the stairs two at a time, wanting to get to the top of the tower as quickly as possible. We reached the door at the top of the stairs and opened it to find… more stairs.

This flight of stairs was straight and short, I could see the exit on the other side of them. Unfortunately, several Heartless also stood in our way. We charged through them, me clobbering them on the head with my Clow Wand, and Sora slashing them with his Keyblade. Several flights of stairs later were yet more stairs. We were tired after climbing this set of steps to the top, to the door.

"How much farther up can it be?" I panted.

"I've got a good feeling about this one," Sora said.

Behind this door was a dark study. There was a blue chest in the corner, and a desk in the center of the room, behind which sat an old man.

"Master Yen Sid," Sora yelled, "Why are there Heartless in your tower?"

"Times have changed. It seems we have unfinished business with the little cretins," he said in reply.

"All that work and there are still Heartless to take care of," Sora muttered.

"You must be Sakura," Yen Sid said.

I nodded, lowering my staff.

"You two must go on a journey, to protect the worlds from the Heartless, and… a new enemy," he continued.

Several silver figures appeared in the room, very life-like holograms. The creatures had long appendages, faces with no eyes, mysterious symbosl decorated their foreheads. The position of their mouths was indicated by a zipper.

"This is called a Dusk. It is one of the lesser Nobodies, but still a very formidable opponent. A Nobody is created when someone with a strong heart, such as you, gives in to darkness and becomes a Heartless. This is what's left of the body after it casts off the heart."

I shivered involuntarily.

"However…" He gestured, making the Dusks disappear. In their place, images of people dressed in cloaks formed. "Some Nobodies appear in human form. Do not be deceived, as they only pretend to have emotions. They are hollow shadows of the hearts they used to be. The stronger Nobodies belong to a group called Organization XIII. Be wary of them."

Sora nodded.

"Heroes of the Keyblade-"

"I don't have a Keyblade," I interrupted quietly.

"Let me see the cards I sent you."

I passed the deck to him. "You sent these to me?"

He nodded. "I did, but let me assure you, I am not responsible for the large Heartless that came to your world. I merely used the meteor shower to make sure these got to you safely. You will need them."

Yen Side continued to shuffle through the cards, stopping when he found what we was looking for. He handed a card to me – The Key.

"Go ahead, Sakura. Use it."

I gripped my staff tightly, and held the card out in front of me.

"Key Card!" I cried, striking it with the edge of my wand.

Similar to when I used The Sword, my Clow Key transformed itself into the weapon.

"There you are," said Yen Sid.

"You were saying?" Sora asked.

"Heroes of the Keyblade, you must start your quest. Keep each other safe, and be careful."

The Gummi Ship floated outside of the tower's window. It was time to leave.


End file.
